History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 743 Haizhou Incident
【Haizhou Incident】

Wang Chuanzheng, the commander-in-chief of Haizhou, was well-known and well-received by the troops, so Xu Zhigao wanted to win him over. Coincidentally, Chen Xuan, the commander-in-chief of Haizhou, was dismissed and was about to return to Yangzhou, so Xu Zhigao leaked the news in advance, saying that he would promote Wang Chuanzheng to be the commander-in-chief. As a result, for unknown reasons, Chen Xuan was reappointed as the commander-in-chief of Haizhou, and Wang Chuanzheng was ordered to come to Yangzhou.

Perhaps it was because of Haizhou's special geographical location. It was the northernmost part of the Huainan forces and bordered the Central Plains dynasty. Perhaps it was to appease Chen Xuan's emotions, or perhaps it was to arrange a more important position for Wang Chuanzheng in the central government. In short, it was very different from the previous promise.

However, Wang Chuanzheng misunderstood and thought that it was Chen Xuan who instigated and framed him, so he impulsively killed Chen Xuan and led his troops to smash, loot and burn in Haizhou, and then surrendered to the Central Plains Dynasty (Later Tang).

When the news came, Xu Zhigao blamed himself deeply, saying that he had done something wrong and caused Wang Chuanzheng to misunderstand him. He did not make things difficult for Wang Chuanzheng's family and declared that his family was not guilty.

Wang Chuanzheng's uncle Wang Yu was the governor of Guangzhou. Wang Chuanzheng sent a spy with a secret letter to Guangzhou to drag Wang Yu into the water. Wang Yu detained the envoy, reported to Yangzhou, and took the initiative to resign to avoid suspicion.

Xu Zhigao then transferred Wang Yu to the Imperial Guards and comforted him. This move killed two birds with one stone, because Xu Zhigao lacked a foundation in the Imperial Guards and had few confidants. Through this operation, he could both appease Wang Yu and control the Imperial Guards through Wang Yu. Wang Yu really became Xu Zhigao's confidant and later became the "warden" of the most mysterious prison in Huainan.

In October 930 AD, Yan Keqiu, the chief strategist of the Xu family group and one of the few veterans who supported Xu Zhixun, unfortunately passed away due to illness. Xu Zhigao was relieved of another worry.

Xu Zhigao appointed his son Xu Jingtong as the Minister of War and Vice Prime Minister, and put him in the core of power in Yangzhou, ready to succeed him in Yangzhou. Xu Zhigao personally returned to Shengzhou to clean up the remaining forces of the Xu Group.

Some people say that Xu Zhigao went to Shengzhou to pay tribute to Xu Wen, because Xu Wen had left his eldest son Xu Zhixun in Yangzhou and then personally took charge of Shengzhou. In fact, it was because Shengzhou was of great strategic significance. If Shengzhou was in hand, Yangzhou was mine. To ensure the safety of Yangzhou, Shengzhou must be in hand, just like if you want to hold Bianzhou firmly, you must control Chanzhou and Weizhou.

In addition, he wanted to promote his great strategist Song Qiqiu to be the prime minister. However, Song Qiqiu thought that he had little experience and a humble background, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to convince the public if he was promoted to the position of prime minister. So he came up with a strategy of retreating to advance, and Xu Zhigao cooperated in the play.

Song Qiqiu first asked for bereavement leave to return to Hongzhou to bury his father. After returning to Hongzhou, he went straight to Jiuhua Mountain, lived in Yingtian Temple, and then submitted a petition requesting to live in seclusion there.

The Southern Wu Emperor Yang Pu issued an edict ordering him to return to the capital to work and not allow him to live in seclusion.

Song Qiqiu again submitted a petition, saying that he had seen through the mundane world and only wanted to spend his life with the Buddha, hoping that the emperor would grant his wish. Then Xu Zhigao wrote a letter to persuade him to come back to take charge of the work, saying that the government could not do without you, I could not do without you, and the people could not do without you...

Song Qiqiu refused again.

Finally, Xu Zhigao sent his son Xu Jingtong to Jiuhua Mountain to persuade him. Xu Jingtong visited Song Qiuqiu three times, and Song Qiuqiu followed Xu Jingtong back to Yangzhou very "reluctantly". He was forced to accept a high position and a generous salary and become a public servant.

In fact, Song Qiuqiu was very greedy for official positions and was never a person who was indifferent to fame and fortune. On the contrary, he had an almost perverted desire for fame, fortune and power. Later, he fell out with Xu Zhigao because of this, which will be described in detail later.

Before leaving Yangzhou, Xu Zhigao promoted his son Xu Jingtong and Song Qiuqiu and other close confidants. However, this was not enough, as there was another worry that needed to be resolved - Xu Zhixun.

At this time, Xu Zhijian, the governor of the Zhennan Army in Hongzhou, died of illness, so the Southern Wu court appointed Xu Zhixun to take over and conferred him the title of Prince of Donghai, inheriting the title of his father Xu Wen. In this way, Xu Zhixun was sent to Hongzhou and left Yangzhou. Xu Zhigao certainly did not let the tiger go back to the mountain, because at this time Xu Zhixun was surrounded by his confidants, and even his personal guards were Xu Zhigao's minions. Xu Zhixun only changed from a prisoner in Yangzhou to a prisoner in Hongzhou, and his life was still in the hands of Xu Zhigao.

When Xu Zhixun arrived at the outskirts of Hongzhou, he happened to meet Xu Zhijian's funeral procession. Xu Zhixun was overwhelmed with emotions, and he stroked his brother's coffin, burst into tears, and said to the coffin: "We are brothers, but you colluded with an outsider (Xu Zhigao) to deal with me. I don't blame you, but...how can you face our father in the afterlife!"

Everyone who heard it was moved to tears.

Xu Zhigao promoted his own confidants in Yangzhou, eliminated dissidents (Xu Zhixun), stabilized the power of Yangzhou, and then submitted a petition to resign and request to go home for retirement. He is just 44 years old this year, and retirement is a lie. "Going home" is the key point, because the "home" he mentioned is Shengzhou.

Therefore, Yang Pu, the puppet emperor of Southern Wu, ordered him to be the Jiedushi of Shengzhou Zhenhai Army and Xuanzhou Ningguo Army, stationed in Shengzhou, and be in charge of the practical affairs of the whole country, everything was the same as Xu Wen's old practice; his son Xu Jingtong stayed in Yangzhou, in charge of the national armed forces (knowing all the military affairs at home and abroad, equivalent to the "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World"), and his two direct advisers Wang Lingmou and Song Qiuqiu served as prime ministers to assist Xu Jingtong.

Everything went according to Xu Zhigao's plan.

(End of this chapter)